Nail Polishes and Treatments

Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant Nail Lacquer

Rescue Beauty Lounge Insouciant Nail Lacquer ($18.00 for 0.4 fl. oz.) is described as a “toned-down dusty gray lilac” that’s “punked out rather than pastel with the faintest hint of shimmer.” It’s a dusty medium-dark lilac muted with gray with iridescent aqua and violet micro-shimmer. I used two coats for opaque color, and when I wore this as a full manicure, it held up really well–a solid week and a half with minor tip wear.

The Glossover

This is the kind of lilac that will work well on more skin tones than more typical lilacs that lean pastel and light. I love the way the shimmer dances in the sunlight, too--it has a very subtle, reflective quality.

Where to Buy

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Minka is a light-medium beige with warm undertones and a subtle silver micro-shimmer. It’s a bit like Deborah Lippmann Not THat Innocent, though not as dark.

Shay is a pink-tinged peach-beige with a silvery-white micro-shimmer threaded through the creamy base. It looks pinker in the bottle than applied, at least on my hands, which I attribute to my natural yellower undertones. It’s a bit like MAC Hangin’ Loose on me.

Pandora is a light-medium pale, beige-y rose with silvery-white threads of metallic shimmer. The closest shade I could think of was Rescue Beauty Lounge Plie, which is darker and pinker.

All three were surprisingly pigmented–Zoya really meant it when they said these were full coverage, because these were nearly opaque in one coat, but I used two for the swatches. I typically get a week’s worth of wear out of Zoya’s formula. The formula on these was on the thicker side, though, so more patience was required than I anticipated, which resulted in messier swatches than I’d like, because it didn’t flow as nicely as it could (my carpal tunnel has been acting up, so my hands are really shaky lately).

The Glossover

If the idea of nude polish has always appealed to you but the sheer finishes commonly associated with softer nudes has put you off, Zoya has brought three neutral nudes to the party that deliver on opaque color coverage in two coats.

Where to Buy

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

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Butter London Dosh Nail Lacquer

Butter London Dosh Nail Lacquer ($14.00 for 0.4 fl. oz.) is described as “a molten apple green shot through with metallic gold.” Dosh is British slang for money, according to the description over at beauty.com. It’s a granny smith apple green–chartreuse yet greener. It has flecks of gold and green shimmer in a finish that almost looks like glass to me.

I compared this shade against other greens in the swatch gallery, but it’s really not like anything I have (not to say there may not be a dupe out there, but I don’t know one!). It is a deeper green than Illamasqua Radium, but the way the chunky shimmer looks makes the end result differ significantly.

This had nice color pay off and only required two coats for an opaque result. Most of my experience as of late with Butter London has been with cream finishes, and I’m pleased to report that the shimmer ones apply just as nicely as I remembered–really even flow, smooth application, and drying time isn’t long at all. I typically get a week of wear with Butter London’s formula with a proper base and top coat.

Where to Buy

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!

Butter London Blagger Nail Lacquer ($14.00 for 0.4 fl. oz.) is described as a “striking cobalt blue.” That description is dead-on — this is such a rich, decadent blue. It’s royal blue, but even richer, and not quite as dark. Butter London’s impeccable cream formula shines here; rich color in two coats (but honestly, one coat is nearly opaque), smooth, even flow of the polish as you apply. I typically get a week’s worth of wear with Butter London’s formula.

Where to Buy

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!

Too Too Hot is really more red than red-coral. It has a cream finish, and it was almost opaque in one coat, though I used two for swatches. The red definitely dominates here, though. It reminds me of a deeper Rescue Beauty Lounge Bangin’, less red Zoya Sooki.

Meet Me at Sunset is a orange-red; kind of like a tomato red to me. It’s very vibrant and has a cream finish. I used two coats. It’s darker than Essie Vermillionaire. Zoya Lana seems like it would come the closest but has shimmer.

Braziliant is a rich, darkened orange with white shimmer. I used two coats, but it was nearly opaque in one. MAC Imperial Flower is similar, though the shimmer is chunkier and gold.

Absolutely Shore is a whitish green with a cream finish. I used two coats, but it does have a streakier base, so take your time with this one. It’s a little less yellow-based than Nubar Sprout.

Super Bossa Nova is a brightened, dark pink with fuchsia shimmer. I swatched with two coats, but it was really pigmented in one. China Glaze 108 Degrees is very similar, though the base pink is redder.

Smooth Sailing is cornflower blue with hints of purple and chunkier silver shimmer. I used two coats. I couldn’t find a dupe for this – I don’t have anything quite like it in my stash from what I can tell!

The formula for Essie’s summer shades was excellent overall. I only had a little trouble with Absolutely Shore, which required some patience and a more precise application (aka pay attention)–the first coat will look a little streaky, so I recommend a thinner initial coat followed by a medium-thick second coat. Despite being a lighter shade, though, it is nearly opaque in just two coats. The other five were impeccable: dense pigmentation, not too thick or thin, even flow, and just easy to work with. I typically get a week’s worth of wear out of Essie’s polishes.

The Glossover

It's a fun collection of summery shades; the first three are more typical of summer, while the latter three are a little more unique. Overall, these were nice to work with and had great color pay off. Smooth Sailing seems the most unique!

Where to Buy

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!

MAC Surf Baby: Nail Lacquers

MAC Surf Baby is right around the corner–the full collection hits stores on May 26th (PRO stores should put it out a week earlier) and should start popping up online as early as the 23rd. There are two Nail Lacquers ($13.50 for 0.4 fl. oz.) coming out: Hangin’ Loose (dirty pink nude) and Ocean Dip (mid-tone creamy aqua).

Hangin’ Loose is a pale, peachy nude with soft white shimmer. It looks more peach, less nude in natural light than it does in brighter light. I used three coats and was able to achieve opaque color, but two coats does get close to opaque. Formula flowed easily over the nail and applied well.

Ocean Dip is a creamy bluish teal. I used two coats to get opaque color coverage. Even after I rolled it a few times, the formula was on the watery side.

my thoughts on the formula: MAC polishes always wear a full week for me, with no chipping, and minor tip wear. The formula isn’t as consistent as I’d like, though, as some shades are thin, some thick, and a couple of them are watery. Though recently I’ve had some issues with splayed applicators, both were perfect in these two bottles.

The Glossover

I found Ocean Dip to seem like a less dupeable shade, just because of the intensity of the color and the way it leans bluer, rather than green, as many teal/aqua shades do. Hangin' Loose has a better formula, though.

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Where to Buy

This product can be purchased at the following retailers:

MAC Cosmetics, May 26th in-stores, $13.50 each

Sometimes products are discontinued or limited edition, which means that a product may no longer be available at one or more retailers so you may need to shop around for those hard-to-find shades! We try to update products as they become discontinued, and if you discover a product has been discontinued, please help us help others by letting us know.

Disclosure: Temptalia uses affiliate links, which give us a small commission when you make a purchase (given to us by the retailer, at no cost to you). Your purchases help to support the site!